One of the things my interior designer, Shannon, suggested was shortening the oak dining room table to be used as a coffee table.  My initial impression was ‘huh?’  The diameter of the table is 40 inches and I felt that might be too big for the adjacent living room area. 

When we had our second meeting, Shannon had scoured her design books and magazines and found exactly what she had been envisioning.  This picture is taken from the fabulous series published by Better Homes and Gardens entitled Adding Character with Architectural Details.  When I saw the image of the shorter coffee table version, I knew she had something.  So I set out to see just how feasible it would be to shorten, or cut, our existing table and contact a carpenter to have it done. 

As it turns out, the dining room table stand is hollow.  This will allow the carpenter to simply cut the table and re-attach with internal brackets.  Our neighbor, Tom, who has nearly as many saws and tools as Norm from This Old House, has kindly volunteered to perform the surgery. 

Haven’t yet decided if I will paint the table after it is shortened.  I found a picture in another magazine that just may do the trick – - stay tuned and I’ll let you know…

In a time of making your dollar stretch, it can be a challenge when you want to re-design a tired, dated room. But, at the same time, that challenge can bring out the most creative process and you’ll be surprised how little of an investment it takes. We’ve lived in our current home for nearly 14 years. It is a typical ‘box’ tract home that offers little architectural interest especially in the entrance and great room areas. This unforgiving spatial feel of a room can leave you intimidated and thinking you have little decorating options. However, in this type of room, the choice of paint color is critical to a warm and inviting appeal. Secondary to the right color is choice of furniture and that’s where an interior designer can be of great benefit.

As you can see from the pictures, we have exactly that in our front room area: a big box. Much of it is air and space that is unused save for warming in the winter or cooling in the summer. Opting for a neutral yet coordinating color scheme is what will make a difference. With the help of some careful thought to ‘re-purposing’ some existing furniture, new window treatments and, of course, some new paint, we will transform this room into an inviting, karmic space!

I am working with a local designer, Shannon Scott, who has a great eye for just this sort of thing. And, better yet, she absolutely loves the challenge of spending as little money as possible. She and I sat down several weeks ago and talked. We talked about what I like, what I don’t like and what are my fears about decorating. It was a cathartic conversation. She made some suggestions, many of which will eventually be incorporated into the re-design of the room. As you can see by the pictures, I have many disparate furniture pieces but all of them beautiful in their own right. And that, she says, is a good start.

After our first meeting, Shannon set out to uncover just what kind of style I described through our conversation. It’s an important process to know what your style is so that you can move forward intelligently and with little wasted effort. After a second meeting, we had a fairly good idea of points of focus for the room. This room, by the way, is a living room-dining room-entry hall increasing the challenge to also fit with other rooms on the same floor. I’m sure you’re familiar with it if you have a tract home.